taken, the whole affair became known, and was speedily communicated to the prince, by whose order Michael was seized. At the same time, a certain Polish youth, of the noble family of Trepko, had been despatched to Moscow by King Sigismund to communicate with Michael, and in order to execute the king's commands with the greater success, he pretended to be a refugee; but he also fell into a similar misfortune, and was seized by the Russians; and when he stated that he was a refugee, he was not believed, but he kept his secret so faithfully, that though he was put to severe torture, he would not reveal it.
After the capture of Michael, he was brought into the prince's presence at Smolensko, who said to him, "Traitor, I will inflict on thee a punishment worthy of thy deserts!" To which he replied: "I do not acknowledge the crime of treason which thou layest to my charge, for if thou hadst kept faith towards me with respect to thine own promises, thou wouldst have found me a most faithful servant to thee in every respect; but when I saw that thou madest light of them, and madest it thy chief aim to evade me, it became a heavy grievance to me that I had not been able to accomplish those things which I had conceived in my mind respecting thee. I have always despised death, and will therefore willingly undergo it; but never more let me see thy face, O tyrant." Upon this he was led away, by the prince's command, through a great concourse of people to Viesma, where the commander-in chief of the army, after having caused the heavy chains with which he was to be bound to be thrown before him, thus addressed him: "The prince, as thou knowest, O Michael, honoured thee with the greatest favour whilst thou faithfully servedst him, but since thou hast thought fit to carry on thy treasonable practices with a high hand, he presents thee with this reward as suitable to thy merits;" saying which, he ordered the fetters to be fastened on him. While Michael was thus being bound with chains,
